New Democrat and Tory MPPs said plowing standards are either not being met or the government must improve them.

Even Liberal MPP Steven Del Duca, who represents the riding of Vaughan, said his constituents have expressed concern about snow removal.

“I know that our government makes every effort to keep our roads safe. However, there are concerns in my riding of Vaughan that in recent years, standards for snow removal have declined,” Del Duca complained.

A winter of little precipitation might be followed by a winter of large snow falls and then melts, he added.

“So the challenges are certainly greater than they were before,” Murray insisted.

Ontario’s roads are still the safest in North America, and the standards are being maintained, he said.

NDP MPP Gilles Bisson, showing reporters a photo of an Ontario highway still covered with slush and snow more than two days after a major storm, said the provincial government privatized snow removal, including the patrol that determines if salt, sand and plows are needed.

“The truth is across this province highways are not maintained to the same standards that they used to be,” the Timmins-James Bay MPP complained. “People are essentially driving at their own risk.”

Tory MPP Vic Fedeli, who represents the riding of Nipissing, said his party has asked the transportation ministry to explain how crews get rid of ice.

The MPP said that without proper treatment, salt bounces off the road at low temperatures — something he saw with his own eyes two weeks ago when travelling along a highway.

“As a consequence, we had about 30 or 40 calls that day alone about Hwy. 17,” Fedeli said. “It’s painfully obvious to me anecdotally that the standards aren’t being met.”